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Worship: The Best Medicine for Life’s Little Troubles

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by Kendrick Gilli

Therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that confess his name. (Hebrews 13:15)

I have come to take this very seriously over the past few years. I have seen firsthand how God has taken care of my family and made my business thrive. Of course, I have worked hard, but I am always amazed by those people who show up out of nowhere to get a mortgage. Obviously, this is not my doing, but a gift from God.

But let me go back to the beginning of my journey in this line of work. I stopped teaching a few years ago, after many years in that field. But what was I supposed to do? Then one day, I heard the Lord tell me to help people with their mortgage needs. This may sound strange, for why would God put me in this line of work? How can I work for Him by writing mortgages? However, He stood by me and my family during this transition, and from the beginning, I wanted to stand with Him as well. I began by praising Him.

Every morning, I listen to praise music and sing along in the car on the way to work. Now this is a prime time for loan officers to be on the phone, but I would rather sing to the Lord. It is probably a good thing that other people are not in the car, because my voice is a lot like a screeching cat. But there I am singing along, people in other cars looking at me, but I do not care. Once I get to the office, all the people know that I am there, because I come in singing. All morning, in between calls, I have the music on as well.

With all the selfish desires, foul mouths, stress, etc. that I see around me, I stay calm, knowing that the Lord is leading my life. Several have asked me how I can stay calm when things don’t go right, and I have a chance to tell them about the joy of the Lord and how I trust in Him. This is my missionary field. I am unafraid to talk to people about the Lord, because the Lord put me there. However, day in and day out, He speaks to me through the songs, and He always has the right songs for that day, even if things do get stressful.

Now, your worship may look totally different from mine, but no matter what, it is an integral part of our relationship with our heavenly father, as Pastor Steve told us last Sunday. David often worshipped through his Psalms—his love, his frustration, his passion, his remorse and on and on. Yeah, I know, many of us do not have the ability to write psalms or songs or even sing. But God loves to hear our heart as we worship.

Don’t be afraid to worship the Lord. You might be surprised how it changes your day-to-day life, which will be infused with the Joy of the Lord. Figure out which way you want to worship Him and build that into your daily living.

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Performance Feedback

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by Dan Amos

There are few things in life I dislike more than watermelon, chalkboard screeching, and performance feedback. I can decline the watermelon, and whiteboards have pretty much replaced chalkboards, but they keep making new ways to do feedback. At work, it’s a semiannual recurrence, whether I want it or not.

But, there’s a reason for it. Without feedback, we tend to not improve. While I’m pretty sure I have a good grasp on my world, I’m continually shown that there are other perspectives on things and lots of stuff to which I am just totally oblivious.

As a body, we at Elim are committed to making disciples—passionate followers of Jesus who seek to know God, grow together in Christ, and go and serve South Hill and beyond. We have a staff, a building, a budget, and people—so how are we doing? We can ask ourselves or a few and see part of the picture. But to really know, we need to get feedback from as many as possible.

Feedback isn’t just a general question about how you are doing personally, or how we are doing as a body. It’s more specific, and a team has put together some questions designed to make each of us think and give useful feedback. The answers to these questions will help assess our progress in the following:

  • Worshipping our Father
  • Maturing in our faith
  • Connecting as disciples in community
  • Reaching out to our unsaved neighbors and friends

Community groups and Bible studies are being asked to work through questions on these four areas. Regular attenders who are not currently in one of these groups will be asked to meet with a small group of others to give feedback. Someone will take notes, and all the notes will be collected and reviewed and studied for themes and things to work on. The idea is to keep moving forward as disciples. Complacency is not an option.

On another note, Tom Chase just finished six years as an elder and is taking his constitutionally-required break from that service. For the last few years he has been the vice-chairman of the board, and last year he led us as the chairman. He served sacrificially and with passion. He did not seek the position, but he humbly accepted it, to our great benefit. Thank you, Tom; and thank you, Corrie, for enabling him to serve so well!

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What’s Next? Navigating Our Needs in Children’s and Worship Ministries

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By Pastor Martin Schlomer, Senior Pastor

It’s been about six weeks since Nate Champneys resigned as Associate Pastor of Worship and Children’s Ministries. Many have asked, “What’s next?” Transitions always raise questions, and I want to address some of these in this week’s Last Word.

“Will we hire another full-time pastor to lead Children’s and Worship Ministries?” At this point in our transition process, the answer is, probably not. Right now, we are evaluating our lay leadership resources and looking for ways to equip and empower them to lead these important ministry areas.

“Will Children’s Ministries continue to be a high priority at Elim?” YES! Elim has always placed a high priority on our ministry to children. This commitment has guided our decisions for the past 25 years and will continue to do so. In collaboration with our current children’s ministry leadership and volunteers, we are assessing our needs and identifying ways to improve our ministry effectiveness. We are also currently in the planning stages of determining how this core commitment will shape our facility expansion plan in the near future. As new and more young families continue to join Elim’s ranks, we will continue to make resourcing Children’s Ministries a high priority.

“Who is overseeing Children’s Ministries?” Cheryl Weller has graciously stepped into this role. Cheryl was our Children’s Ministries Director for 17 years, so she brings a wealth of experience. She is working closely with Julie Davis and the rest of the Awana leadership to oversee Awana, as well as with Geneva Mooney and the other Sunday-morning coordinators to oversee our Sunday-morning children’s program. She is also forming a team who will lead our summer children’s ministries. If you have questions, comments, or concerns, please see Cheryl Weller or Brian Sharpe. They welcome the opportunity to talk further.

“What is our strategy for leadership for Worship Ministries?” In January, Nate developed four worship teams with four worship leaders, leading one himself and being joined by Brian Waple, Tomina Sharpe, and Roger Petersohn. With his resignation, we have consolidated the four teams to three very strong teams, led by Brian, Tomina, and Roger. Brian Sharpe is working closely with our sound and video teams. Together, Brian and I are moving forward with training and developing our leaders.

“Are we considering hiring a part-time Children’s Ministries Director and a part-time Worship Ministries Director?” Yes. We are praying and waiting to see whom God brings to the surface. Our prayerful goal is to have a part-time director in place over Children’s Ministries by September. Regarding a part-time director of worship, we will need to wait and see how things develop.

Please keep praying for your church during this process. We want to have the right people in place when the time is right. This will take wisdom and patience. It will also require transparency and congregational support. As a leadership team (staff and elders), we are committed to this process being transparent. We want to hear your questions and answer them as best we can. We need your prayer support. Elim is the bride of Jesus, and we want to love her and lead her well.

Moreover, as a congregation, we need everyone to remain faithful financially. Some of what we are able to accomplish will be dependent on that faithfulness.
Finally, I want to say THANK YOU to all our leaders and volunteers! Everyone has pulled together during this transition, and they’re serving others and our Lord well! When you see someone serving, tell them “Thank you!” We are all energized when others notice.

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Worship and the Best Fruit Salad

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By Nate Champneys

If you ask 10 different people the question, “What makes a good fruit salad?” you will undoubtedly get 10 different answers. “Oh, I love banana in mine!” “No, I hate bananas! You have to have blueberries!” “You have to have Miracle Whip in it!” “No, I can’t stand Miracle Whip!” And so on.

I know, because I asked this question at the last extended-family dinner we had together. But, in order for you to have a good time with your family during a meal, must everyone agree on the contents of the fruit salad? Probably not.

I like to compare worship to a fruit salad. What is “good worship” to you? What are the circumstances under which you are able to most easily connect with God? The answer to this question may be very different, depending on who you ask.

I recently was privileged to represent Elim at the Evangelical Free Church of America worship leaders’ gathering at EFCA headquarters in Minneapolis. It was such an amazing time for so many reasons, but one of my favorite things was being able to worship together with other worship leaders from across the country. It could have been my least favorite part, if God hadn’t helped me get out of my own way in connecting with Him.

As we started the gathering, there were about 30 of us in the room, with a group of musicians and singers up front leading. They handed us a booklet containing a liturgy of readings and songs. Sadly, an attitude of disappointment began to form within me. At Elim, we tend to not do a lot of traditional, liturgical things in our worship, so it’s something that I’m not used to. Thus, when they handed me the book, I was skeptical.

The guy who was leading the worship time began to play and sing, and I immediately began thinking critical thoughts. It can be very hard for me when I am at another church or at a concert to focus on anything other than the tech they are using or what chords they are playing, because I deal with all those things on a daily basis.

But at that moment it was as if God said to me, “Nathan, will you stop? Stop critiquing. Stop focusing on all the instruments. Stop focusing on the everything but Me, and just be with Me in this time. Just be with Me!” And at that moment I let go of all the analysis and the critique and merely began to simply be.

What followed was one of the sweetest times of worship I have ever experienced in my life. The funny thing is, the ambience of the room was still not ideal. The flourescent lights were very bright. The sound wasn’t perfect. The instrumentalists made a few mistakes here and there. The songs were not even all songs I knew, nor were they particularly my favorites … BUT, it didn’t matter. Because I was with Jesus!

I have been asking the question, “What is worship and what are we really doing here?” God has continued to break out of the box that I’ve put Him in. I have realized that the biggest barrier between us and a close, intimate time with God is not the lighting, the music, the strength of the vocalists, or the volume level. Instead, it is what I see when I look in the mirror. Me! I have heard the phrase, “We should be able to worship God no matter what the music is like.” It’s a simple thing to say, but it’s much more difficult to follow. I have said it myself. But I don’t think I really believed it.

In his letter to the Philippians, Paul talks about the heart we are to have. He says, “then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.”

We will never have the same passions or the same preferences, but we can have one mind, as Paul says. We can have a mindset of selflessness and the heart of a servant. We may not agree on what is the best style of music or what color the lights should be, or even what songs to sing, but we do agree that Jesus is worthy of praise, that He is the object of our praise and that He modeled humility and selflessness to us and has asked us to follow Him.

So I challenge you, the next time you’re in a corporate worship time and you find yourself thinking negatively about the songs, the music, or the lighting, ask Jesus, “Lord will You help me to just be with You, worship You, and let my heart honor You during this time?”

“In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature of God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant.” (Philippians 2:5-7)

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Just Because He Is

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By Tom Chase

Remember the story of Job, a very rich man, had everything he needed and more? Then trouble struck him and he lost everything except his life. His riches, his family, his reputation, and even his health — all were gone.

Job’s response when he found out?

Job stood up and tore his robe in grief. Then he shaved his head and fell to the ground to worship. He said,

“I came naked from my mother’s womb,
and I will be naked when I leave.
The Lord gave me what I had,
and the Lord has taken it away.
Praise the name of the Lord!”

Job 1:20-21 NLT

I have to say that I am totally blown away by a man whose response to trouble like this is to worship God. Wow! Really?

I am pretty sure that is not our typical response, and I know it is not mine. Yet what bothers me is that it should be. Over the past several weeks I have been pondering Job’s response. I have been checking his response compared to the things that cause me (and, I believe, sometimes us) to praise God. It seems to me that we have become really good at praising God for what He has done … and we should do that. But I also believe that we (and I) need to become really good at worshiping God because He is.

There is so much to appreciate about our creator God. Scripture tells us that He is glorious … that He is beyond compare … that there is no one else like Him. We do see some of that in the things He does for us. It gives us a glimpse into His character. But I have to say that He is worthy of our praise because He is — not just because of what He has done for us (or me). As I continue to think this through, I have been finding myself in awe of the person of God and I have found joy in God in praising Him simply for Him. He is our greatest “Thing,” and not because He gives us stuff, but because He is.

If you are feeling like your praise has been heavy on the “because-of-what-God-has-done” side, take some time and just praise Him for Him and give Him glory!

If a song will encourage you in this way, “Just Because You Are” by Philip Sandifer has been an encouragement for me.

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Getting Rid of Life-Shrinking Parasites

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Reprinted with permission from WholeLifeWorship.com (courtesy Dr. Doug Lee)

microscopic-view-of-a-malaria-parasite-everett

Whole-life worship is living the “large life.” God has called us to live a “large” life for Him. He wants to give us His blessings, His power, His love, His forgiveness, His joy, His hope, His peace, and His transformation. These are all LARGE things. They, if we will receive them, enable us to live ABUNDANT lives (John 10:10; John 15); more than that, we will also be able to live INFLUENCING lives – where others look and take notice (Matt. 5:14-16).

But there are parasites ingrained in our fallen nature that want to kill the seeds of God’s largeness from bearing fruit. These “life-shrinkers” are the thoughts, attitudes and actions that make our lives small, puny and petty. They are in direct opposition to living out “whole-life worship” to God. I am reminded of when Jesus could not do any miracles in a particular Galilean village because of their lack of faith – they were living lives dominated by life-shrinkers!

Although life-shinkers are common to all, everyone has their own customized set of life-shrinkers that specialize in short-circuiting the life of Christ in them. Mine are: impatience with others, a critical spirit, greed, envy, guilt and fear. These life-shrinkers are constantly at work to steal away God’s largeness of life. Here’s how they work in some not-so-hypothetical situations:

I notice that someone else is flourishing (ministry, financial, relational). I have a choice of rejoicing in their blessing or becoming envious. If I choose the envy route it leads me down a life-shrinking path: discrediting them, becoming resentful, joining others who are also envious, passing on juicy gossip, etc. In the process I become a much smaller, limited person.

A supervisor at work has the gall to reprimand me about something that he/she is always guilty of doing. What nerve! I have the choice to either look at the reprimand objectively and prayerfully or to harbor bitter feelings toward my supervisor. If I choose to harbor bitterness and its “life shrinking” powers go immediately into effect. I spend my hours at work watching for their every mistake, stacking up my case against them, and looking for the opportunity to get even.

The world likes to call Christians “a bunch of hypocrites.” That’s because many Christians suffer a credibility gap – what we say about ourselves does not match how we live. I believe this is due to the fact that, although we have the BIGNESS of God in our lives, our day-to-day decisions are more influenced by the “life-shrinkers” within us. The Apostle Paul tells us to put to death those things that “shrink” our lives (Galatians 5:16-21, Ephesians 4:17-5:21).

What has helped me put these life-shinkers to death is to recognize them for what they are when they come to me. When a thought or attitude wants me to take action or to react in speech, I’ll say to myself, “That is such a small way to think. C’mon, you were called to bigger things than to react in that way.” Then I will pray, “God, I die to this way of thinking. Please lead me in Your path of right thought, speech and action.” And EVERY TIME I do this, the thought or attitude dies. Every time! I must say that it is a lot easier to do this when you nip these things at the bud (it’s a lot harder, but not impossible, to overcome the “life-shinkers” when we always yield to the desires of our fallen nature).

So live large in whole-life worship by getting rid of the “life-shrinkers” with the help of Christ’s grace and power. Then you’ll have another reason to sing His praises!

Purify my heart, cleanse me from within and make me holy. Purify my heart, cleanse me from my sin, deep within.

(“Refiner’s Fire” by Brian Doerksen)

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